Top Ten Horror Movies

Blood, guts, and violence-these hallmarks of the horror genre have made some critics dismiss the films altogether. Still, horror films have been able to build up a large and enthusiastic fanbase. This is a list of the top ten greatest horror films of all time.

10. Ringu

Following her cousin Tomoko’s death, reporter Reiko comes across stories of a mysterious videotape that kills whoever views it after seven days. Though at first she dismisses the rumors, she begins to grow suspicious after reports seem to confirm its truth. Eventually, she watches the tape herself, and things go very wrong from there. She and her ex-husband join forces in an attempt to stop this mysterious curse from claiming another victim-herself!

9. Jaws

The famous film that ruined the beach for everyone. A great white shark terrorizes the town of Amity, horrifying the populace and forcing a team of the police chief, a scientist, and a fisherman to take care of the shark once and for all.

8. Poltergeist

The young daughter of the Freeling family creates an otherworldly connection with a mysteriously dead television channel. Soon after, strange happenings occur all throughout the house; at first it all seems harmless, but soon it becomes sinister, as the family is haunted by furious trees, psychopathic dolls, and vengeful ghosts.

7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Five teenagers pick up a hitchhiker, who unnerves the group so much that they quickly drop him off. Events take a sour note once they stop at a gas station, and the group soon finds themselves fighting to stay alive as they are hunted down by a family of deranged cannibals bent on ripping them apart.

6. Carrie

Shy, awkward teenager Carrie White is having a very difficult time in high school. After being ridiculed over the start of her first period and suffering through her mother’s extreme religious paranoia, one of her peers takes pity on her and convinces the class hottie to take her to the prom. A more sinister classmate then uses the opportunity to play a terrible trick on poor Carrie, humiliating her enough to release her supernatural powers. Things take a rather bloody turn from there.

5. Hostel

A group of male friends goes off backpacking in Europe and are seduced by some friendly locals. After each of the men begins to mysteriously disappear, the true intent of those women-and the horrifically violent organization they work for-is revealed. To say a bloodbath follows would be a graphic understatement.

4. Drag Me to Hell

A young woman who works as a loan officer is forced to evict an old gypsy woman from her home. Furious, the gypsy curses the unsuspecting woman, plaguing her with a supernatural curse that destroys the very foundation of her world.

3. Psycho

Marion Crane is a woman desperate for a change. After leaving town with $40,000 her boss asked her to deposit at the bank, she decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel-a rundown, decrepit building. The motel’s owner, Norman Bates, lives with his invalid mother and is a peculiar man, to say the least. Marion’s life takes a turn for the worst after a murder-mystery joins the story.

2. The Exorcist

Teenage girl Regan suddenly goes under the weather, exhibiting bizarre, frightening symptoms. Her mother, at a loss, calls for a priest, who becomes convinced that Regan is suffering from a case of demonic possession. He calls in a second priest to help perform an exorcism, and what follows is really a hell of a ride.

1. The Shining

Jack Torrance takes a job as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel with his nervous wife and young son. The hotel is tucked away in the quiet, lonely Colorado Mountains, and amidst the isolation strange happenings begin to occur within the hotel. Jack continues to grow madder as the days pass, and coupled with his severe writer’s block, he suffers a total mental breakdown and goes on a murderous rampage.